


Together

by ellebeedarling



Series: Spectre Requisitions 2018 [1]
Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Domestic Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-08
Updated: 2018-03-08
Packaged: 2019-03-28 19:48:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13910946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellebeedarling/pseuds/ellebeedarling
Summary: Lazy days spent together are the best.





	Together

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FallingOverSideways](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallingOverSideways/gifts).



> For the beauteous FallingOverSideways! Enjoy my friend! 
> 
> There is no plot here. Just fluff! Sorry!

“Eggs are up!” James hollered from the kitchen. He was always exuberant, more so first thing in the morning. Steve didn’t quite understand it. He never felt awake himself before a cup or three of coffee, and he was relieved to catch a faint whiff of it, the gurgling sound of the coffee maker. 

 

Rolling out of bed, he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and padded, barefoot to the kitchen, where James stood with all his morning enthusiasm, in a pair of sweats and nothing else. He looked good enough to eat. James greeted him with a kiss, and Steve mumbled a, “Morning,” before staggering over to the machine to pour himself a cup of liquid gumption. 

 

Steve Cortez was not a morning person. Never had been. 

 

James’ arms snaked around his waist, chin resting on Steve’s shoulder. “What’s on the agenda for today?”

 

“Sleep?”

 

James tutted and smacked Steve on the ass before pulling away to plate their breakfast. “Esteban! Come on, man! It’s a gorgeous day! The sun’s shining, birds chirping. We need to be out in this… doing shit!” 

 

Steve pondered briefly what it would be like to be James Vega, filled to the brim with optimism and a childlike excitement for every single task he undertook. As it turned out, he didn’t have the brain power just yet. He sipped his cup of liquid ambition and watched as James spooned scrambled eggs with scallions and copious amounts of cheese onto plates, adding crisp bacon and hot, buttered toast to the side. Bowls of fruit completed the feast, and James, who’d been humming cheerily to himself the entire time, turned to Steve and flashed his award-winning smile. “Soup’s on,” he said. 

 

They chatted about their day, their plans. Steve needed to run some parts over to Joker who was working on some sort of (undoubtedly) diabolical surprise for Shepard and Kaidan. James had some supplies to deliver to one of the orphanages in town. (He’d taken to spend a lot of his free time there with the kids and other people who were still homeless more than a year after the war.) It suddenly struck Steve exactly how domestic all this was and how long it had been since he’d let himself feel the kind of tranquility that comes from having an ordinary, everyday life, and someone to share it with. 

 

Without warning, he leaned across the tiny breakfast table and kissed James square on the mouth. The larger man was startled for only a moment before he warmed to the activity and returned the kiss with some of his trademark zeal. “What do you say we run these errands and come back here?” Steve asked. 

 

“What do you say we make a pitstop by the bedroom before we run these errands?” James countered. 

 

“I like your thinking, Mr. Vega.”

 

**

 

After their errands, the day was spent in strolling lazily through the burgeoning town by the waterfront in San Diego. Steve didn’t have much cause to return to the place he’d grown up, a nothing town containing nothing special, but James still had family in the area. It made for some fun Saturday nights with friends and family gathered around. Beers were imbibed, steaks grilled, and enough stories volleyed back and forth to keep everyone entertained all night long. The district where they lived had given rise to several makeshift parks, as well as small cafes and dive bars. The place had character, life, and Steve drank it in as he and James meandered through it all. 

 

They played a few games of pick-up basketball with some of the local street teens. James also tried to spend as much time as he could with them, steering them toward employment and education - limited as those things were at the moment - even encouraging a few of them to enlist in the Alliance. Steve never ceased to be amazed by James’ generous heart - room enough in there to love everyone he met. He made a mental note to tag along the next time James wandered down this way. It could only help the kids to have more adults interested in their well-being. Might even keep a few of them from disappearing into the world of crime and drugs. 

 

“Ever thought about having kids?” Steve asked suddenly. 

 

If James was surprised by the question, he didn’t show it. “A little, yeah,” he admitted. “Though we should probably start with a puppy.” 

 

Steve laughed, linked his fingers with James’, and turned them towards home. That was a discussion they could save for later. Right now all that mattered was that they were together. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
